0.19.

Traces of morning sunlight pouring in from the window, creating an alternating pattern of light on his blanket. Sequencee sat up from the bed and rubbed his eyes.

"Morning," he said to himself.

A multi deck study desk located at one corner of the room, two massive bookshelves loaded with books ranging from world history to literature, a simple display case which housed rare gifts he had collected from various encounters, a wardrobe full of clothes tailored for himself, and a collection of magic books sitting on a separate shelf among other things.

He did light stretches as he got up. Pouring himself a glass of water, he wet his throat after a long night's sleep.

He walked over to his desk and pulled from a basket his most recent journal.

The things he wrote inside evolved over the years. While the habit started as a daily diary, the focus of the written contents changed as he grew. Serendipitous life events and personal feelings preceded insights and ideas. What he thought to be a way of documenting his life had become a way of awareness, a reminder that he had a journey of endless growth ahead of him.

Within the pages of his previous entries were unique magic formulas and hexes which he had created for his personal use, small mental modulations in perceiving the world to better heighten his senses in battle, even his own take on relationship advice when communicating with people around him.

The hall outside his room was dim, the floored looking as if it were glowing thanks to the streaks of light coming from the outside.

The mansion felt ominously quiet today, so Sequencee took to the garden. Along the way, he greeted the maids and butlers that were cleaning the corridor.

There was a miniature hedge maze Sequencee often played in when he was younger. He came here so often that he had pretty much memorized every path.

And in the center of the maze was a fountain.

The pink and white flowers in bloom, the white clouds billowing in the sky. Small insects gathered around the flowers, the herb garden he and his mom built before their previous excursion had grown healthy leaves.

He sat on a bench observing for a couple minutes, taking in the calm.

A brown glowing bead no bigger than a pebble materialized itself.

Followed by a green one, then a red one, then blue, then black–

Earth, wind, fire, ice, water, void, light, lava, nature, glacier, summoning–

Magic exists everywhere, a normal part of everyday life. Everyone possesses the capability to use it to some degree. There is almost no limit to what one can do with magic, no rules saying that only talented ones had the capacity to use spells. The utility went beyond just killing things. Simple day to day tasks like heating water, drying clothes, and healing small cuts.

The magic of this world is so vast that people came up with limiting classifications to explain them.

If one created a fire dragon, would that fall under fire element, or would that fall under creation magic, or summoning? How about void magic? Was it a dark element or gravity element?

Classifications were merely semantics used by scholars to standardize the understanding of underlying magic concepts. True magicians know that rules must be learnt first before knowing the method to properly break them.

Sequencee had his eyes closed, juggling the myriad of colourful beads floating around him. Each representing the fundamentals of each element of magic, his control of mana was at a level that belied his age.

He kept these beads floating in the background for hours every day. It was a form of training he devised since he was young, and he had gotten to the point where conscious thought wasn't needed to maintain them.

[Illusion Magic: Universal Haze]

Enveloped by an invisible haze, the beads turned blurry before disappearing completely. They were still present, just not perceivable.

"I wonder how mom is doing … "

Estia Barony is a territory located southwest from the heart of the empire. At the Y-branching of a large river, it was a quaint city of agriculture which cultivated staple food items like wheat and rye. There was a salt mine located in the southern region, and a good hunting ground closer to the west.

"Sequencee! Welcome back!"

"Boy! How is it going!"

"Here's a little gift to celebrate your return!"

The folks here treated everyone like close neighbors. Sequencee was no exception as he greeted them cordially while handing out little souvenirs. For younger kids and friends he knew, candy and mini books were the gift of choice. As for acquaintances that he and his mother were closer to, there were special souvenirs prepared. A special knife for a restaurant chef, a sigil core for the magic craftsman, a magic wand for an aspiring mage-mercenary, and so on.

Of course, many of them put in a word of consolation, aware of the tragedy that befell upon Anna.

The Last Era happened five centuries ago. A dark period of history where the human race was pushed to the brink of genocide under the tyranny of Demon Lord Rizal's rule.

Before the end of the Last Era, healing and religion were seen as one entity. A revolution took place as the extinction of the human race drew nearer, shattered the faith and hopes of many. The church broke into two distinct groups. The first one were the fanatics, people that found solace in the embrace of the Goddess of Creation, Ra. These were, if put in modern day context, a group of insane mad men and cultists pursuing blind faith.

The second group were people that have chosen the path of pragmatism, having lost their faith in the Goddess Ra. Many among them were priests and priestesses who specialized in healing the wounded.

This was a point in time where people realized that healing and religion had nothing to do with one another, resulting in the permanent separation of the two entities till this day. Many priests and priestesses that contributed to the survival of humanity changed their roles from preachers, to professionals that worked in the frontlines of the war. Five centuries later, this group of professionals now worked in the healthcare institution–a concept introduced by the hero after the war ended.

Today, though the church and medical field were two separate divisions, calling someone a priest or priestess may entail different meanings depending on the context.

Hence why it was abnormal how most priests and priestesses in Estia were both medical professionals and religious practitioners. In a way, Estia was unique. In most other regions, the church and hospital continue to play distinct roles, and are not to be associated with one another.

Sequencee made his way to the hospital and found the ward his mother was resting in. It sounded like the high priest was speaking with someone in the room. Sequencee knock before entering with Robert, a butler of his.

"Lord Reed, Father Joseph … Lady Leticia, good morning," Sequencee bowed as he greeted them.

"Good morning Sequencee," Reed Estia, the baron greeted.

Sequencee placed the basket of flowers and gifts which he received from the town folks on top of the desk.

"How are you feeling?" Joseph asked.

Meanwhile, Leticia merely nodded as a way of greeting.

"I'm feeling fine. How is my mother?" Sequencee made his way to the side of the bed.

'She looks fine … '

"It's still there?" Sequencee pointed to the black scale clinging to her cheeks.

Joseph's expression dimmed. "My apologies Sequencee, we've done what we can but, your mother is afflicted with a strong curse that not even we can treat. I have reached out to other priests regarding the matter, some have volunteered to oversee the matter. Perhaps they have a Gift that may cure your mother of this ailment."

"A curse?"

Curses were something not often studied due to its taboo nature. Most of the time, the notion of 'curses' are simply a disguise to insidious Gifts. True curses are rare, and more often than not, regarded as chronic diseases in the medical field.

"Astroth's curse. You said it yourself that she challenged the great dragon … if I may ask, why did she attempt such a reckless stunt, knowing her own life was at risk?" Reed asked.

"I want to know why myself."

"It's alright," Joseph patted Sequencee's shoulders.

Sequencee picked out a chair and sat beside his mother. The black veins which had previously covered her arm had now shrunk to a few patches near her shoulder. It was a relief, knowing that some warmth had returned to her finger.

"How much longer will she be here for?" Sequencee asked.

"By that, are you referring to–"

"What do you think?" Anna's voice rang out.

"Huh? Mom!"

Anna looked at him with an eye open, an eye closed. She chortled.

"I'm going back today dear."

"W-What? Really?" Sequencee, surprised that she had faked her sleep.

"It's as she said, she will be discharged today. If anything abnormal arises, you must bring her to the hospital immediately. Currently, the curse has been identified as benign. Try as we might to keep her here for a longer duration for observation's sake, she may as well tear down the place in the near future," Joseph said nonchalantly.

"Ah?" Sequencee enunciated in a dubious voice.

"Aren't you glad? Fufu … " Anna smiled.

"Of course I am!" Sequencee wrapped his arms around her. He sniffled. "You smell like the hospital."

Anna pulled at his cheeks.